Looking Out for the Good: ‘CANstruction’ design competition in downtown SLC to help Utah Food Bank
Nov 11, 2024, 10:59 AM | Updated: 11:04 am
SALT LAKE CITY — An annual charity event and design competition began in downtown Salt Lake Monday. The event, called CANstruction aims to help food banks in Utah.
Hosted by the Utah branch of the American Institute of Architects, the event brings together construction designers from across the state for a good cause. Their challenge? Create a sculpture made completely out of cans.
Designers in downtown Salt Lake City preparing to build their CANstruction design in the 2024 contest.
The theme for 2024 is “ICANic Utah;” a pun celebrating Utah’s many landmarks and beauty.
Teams began building at 9 a.m. Monday in various locations, and were allotted 8 hours to complete their structures. The teams, made up of a maximum of 10 members, can only have 4 members working on the sculpture at once. The sculptures will be crafted using a minimum of 1,000 cans for each team.
A CANstruction competition winner from 2023. Mickey Mouse took home “Best Original Design” in a competition held in Orange County, California. (American Institute of Architects)
After the competition is over, the sculptures will stay up for a few weeks so the public can vote for their favorite sculpture, with each $1 donation equating to one vote.
An awards ceremony will be held on Nov. 21 where the winners for multiple categories — best use of labels, structural ingenuity, best meal, most cans, people’s choice and best original design — will be announced. After the winners are selected, the cans and funds are donated to the Utah Food Bank
